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After bumpy week, Trump endorses Speaker Ryan, Sen. McCain

Posted: 7:23 PM, Aug 05, 2016

Updated:2016-08-05 21:35:58-04

By:
Justin Boggs

Just days after saying he was "not quite ready" to endorse Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Republican nominee offered his endorsement of Ryan while campaigning in Ryan's home state of Wisconsin Friday evening.

Trump also offered an endorsement of Sen. John McCain.

"We need unity. We have to win this election. This is one of the most important elections in my lifetime," Trump said at Friday's rally in Green Bay.

"He's a good man," Trump said about Ryan. "We may have disagreements as friends but we will never stop working together"

Trump told the Washington Post earlier this week he likes Ryan, "But these are horrible times for our country. We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I’m just not quite there yet. I’m not quite there yet.”

Although Ryan is expected to easily win reelection of his Wisconsin district, Trump's non endorsement of Ryan created ripples within the party throughout the week.

During the same Washington Post interview, Trump stated he was not ready to endorse 2008 GOP nominee McCain, who is in a tough Senate reelection battle in Arizona.

Trump caught condemnation from both sides of the aisle for comments he made referring to McCain's service in Vietnam.

"He's not a war hero," Trump said in 2015. "He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured."

Although Trump essentially clinched the nomination in early May when rivals John Kasich and Ted Cruz dropped out of the running for the GOP's presidential nomination, Ryan waited until June to offer his endorsement of Trump.

Since his endorsement, Ryan has called out Trump numerous times. Just days after Ryan's endorsement of Trump, Ryan said that Trump's comments directed toward a federal judge of Mexican descent involving the judge's impartiality was "textbook racism."

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